Local Elections
Debate between Baroness Taylor of Stevenage and Lord Hayward(1 week, 3 days ago)
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Baroness Taylor of Stevenage (Lab)
Yes, I am very happy to do that. The strategic authorities are being set up and we will have no delay in laying the statutory instruments—it is very important that those statutory instruments go ahead as quickly as possible. Those mayoral strategic authorities will have a number of functions available in the interim period to their mayoral election to make sure that they are working to encourage the investment that we all want in their areas. I will write to the noble Baroness with the detail but, just to run through quickly, they will have a general power of competence; a duty to develop a local growth plan; power to pay grants to constituent councils; power to borrow to an agreed cap; adult skills function powers; a health improvement and health inequalities duty; functions to acquire land, provide housing and build infrastructure; and responsibility for public transport and local transport planning. There is a lot for them to be getting on with.
Lord Hayward (Con)
My Lords, when we discussed these elections the other day, the Minister, for whom I have great respect, suggested that I was dancing on the head of a pin. I am a little surprised that, only a few days later, she should be coming forward and dancing on the head of possibly a very different pin. Does she agree with the comment in the other place from the Labour MP for Oldham West, who said
“we need to be better than this”?—[Official Report, Commons, 4/12/25; col. 1166.]
Local leaders across the political spectrum have worked in good faith. They have put aside self-interest and differences and have done everything asked of them to secure a better settlement for the people they represent. They reasonably expected the Government to do the same. Why have the Government not done the same?
Baroness Taylor of Stevenage (Lab)
I am very grateful to my honourable friend in the other place for all the work that he did in laying the ground for this local government reorganisation and the devolution programme. He is very committed to it, as I know only too well, having worked with him very closely. However, it was right that, when the new team came in, they took a step back and had a good look at this. I do not think that I am dancing on the head of a pin in terms of elections. All the elections that were due to take place in 2026 will take place; these are four inaugural elections for new mayors. It is right that we build that strong foundation of those unitary authorities before we go ahead with the mayoral elections.
Election Law
Debate between Baroness Taylor of Stevenage and Lord Hayward(1 month ago)
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Baroness Taylor of Stevenage (Lab)
As I said, I understand the frustration about this, but the core scope of the review was to make sure that we pick up the main risks and issues related to electoral registration and the conduct of elections. A complete review of the electoral system would be a very complex and long-standing procedure and we wanted to do this on a risk-based approach, dealing with the challenges faced by the electoral sector rather than undertaking a wholescale consolidation. We have some pragmatic solutions to address the key issues and we are taking those forward.
Lord Hayward (Con)
My Lords, I echo the request for consolidation of election law made by the noble Lords, Lord Shamash and Lord Pack: it is a complete mess at the moment. I will pick up on the answer that the Minister gave to the noble Baroness, Lady Scott, where she said that it was the intention that all local government elections will go ahead. Is she actually saying that the relevant authorities will have elections, or that it is their intention at the moment but we will be told in X number of weeks or months’ time?
Elections: Political Party Spending
Debate between Baroness Taylor of Stevenage and Lord Hayward(6 months, 1 week ago)
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Lord Hayward (Con)
My Lords, I welcome both the Minister’s initial Answer and her reply to the noble Lord, Lord Rennard. She will be aware that Reform, in announcing its policy on DOGE, said that it would cost the ordinary voter nothing because the expertise would be provided for free. That surely constitutes a donation of some form or another. On Saturday, Aubrey Allegretti reported in the Times that the head of DOGE in Kent had said that they had
“hired up to a dozen people, including forensic accountants”
and data scientists. Does the Minister agree that this either constitutes a donation, which should be looked at by the Electoral Commission, or, more likely, is a cost to the voters of Kent County Council of which they were not aware when they cast their votes only a few weeks ago?
Baroness Taylor of Stevenage (Lab)
The noble Lord makes a very important point, and, like many others, I have heard a lot about DOGE in Kent. Local government funding is incredibly complex and, if what I have seen in the press is true, it is very important that anyone looking into this has a very detailed understanding of the subject. We have our own regulatory bodies, including CIPFA, which do great work in that area.
On breaches of donations, the rules are a matter for the Electoral Commission or the police. The Electoral Commission already has the power to investigate and to impose civil penalties where it is satisfied there has been a breach. As part of our commitment to strengthening the rules on donations, which, very importantly, include donations in kind, we are also reviewing whether any changes are required to the role and powers of the regulator to make sure that rules across the political finance framework are effectively enforced.
Political Parties: Funding
Debate between Baroness Taylor of Stevenage and Lord Hayward(11 months ago)
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Baroness Taylor of Stevenage (Lab)
My noble friend raises a very important issue. Political parties can accept donations only from registered electors but of course that now includes overseas electors. They are subject to the same counter-fraud measures as domestic electors, including having their identity confirmed as part of the registration process, but that very important issue will be looked at as we all look at all matters relating to elections.
Lord Hayward (Con)
My Lords, I welcome the response that the Minister gave to the noble Lord, Lord Blunkett, about a full consultation. However, she will be aware that the restrictions on election expenditure were set in the days when one could communicate with the electorate only through leaflets and the like. There are now many different ways of doing so, many of which are very cheap or low-cost. Will the Minister include in the review that she mentioned to the noble Lord, Lord Blunkett, some assessment of the restrictions on expenditure in general for elections at whatever level?
Baroness Taylor of Stevenage (Lab)
I am grateful for that question. There is no doubt that the system of campaigning has changed very dramatically, particularly in the last few years with the advent of social media. However, in my experience of campaigning—which spans a number of decades—political parties have adapted their campaigning but have not let go of their traditional methods. So although social media can be a very effective and efficient way of campaigning, we do still rely on some of the traditional methods. But, of course, that will be looked at as part of the review we are undertaking.